Acetylene-gas generator.



No. 658,439. Patented Sept. 25, I900.

l. L. HARRIS.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Application filed Jan. 29, 1900.) (No M bdel.)

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NITED STATES PATENT union.

ISAAC LEONARD HARRIS, OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,439, datedSeptember 25, 1900. Application filed January 29, 1900- Serial No.3,036. (n6 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ISAAC LEONARD HAR- MS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Jacksonville, in the county of Duval and State ofFlorida, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements inAcetylene-Gas Generators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for generating illuminating-gas fromthe reaction of calcium carbid and water; and the object of my inventionis to bring the two compounds referred to into contact in such a manneras will produce the most effective results, and particularly in thevolume of gas generated.

My present invention relates to a carbidchamber, a generator-tank, acondenser, and a gasometer, all embodied inone piece, and includes acarbid-feeding device operated by a weight, which are modifications ofthe feeding deviceand operating mechanism treated of in my LettersPatent No. 637,252, dated November 21, 1899.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section through thegenerator, condenser, and gasorneter; Fig. 2, a similar section at rightangles to Fig. 1 with the carbidchamber in elevation; Fig. 3, anelevation of the outside casing, with a section through thesprocket-and-chain receptacle; Fig. 4, a plan. Figs. 5 and 6 areenlarged details of a part plan and elevation of the chain-beltmovingfloor modification of my aforesaid Letters Patent, and Fig. 7 is asection of the water-escapement check-drum.

Similar figures refer to similar parts in the several views.

Features that I have already patented and which I claim in combinationwith this application are referred to by letters.

1 is a gasometer-casing, and 2 is a gasometer-bell, through the centerof which is an opening extending its full depth, provided with a conicalcasing 3.

4 is the carbid-chamber partly contained in the conical casing 3 of thegasorneter-bell, with which it forms a water seal, but above which itprojects upward to a height equal to the upward limit to which the bellwill rise when filled with gas. The carbid-chamber stands in an uprightposition in the middle of the gasometer, its lower portion beingcone-shaped and concentric to the conical casing 3 of the gasometer-bellwhen the latter is down at its lower point. The upper portion of thecarbid-chamber is cylindrical from the point where the cone portionterminates to the top, where the charging-hole is located, closed by acap-screw .5. The floor of the carbid-chamber consists of two parts, onepart thereof being a solid floor 6, upon which the carbid fails whencharged into the chamber from the opening at the top, the other partbeing composedof an endless chain belt 7, which is a modification of myLetters Patent previously referred to. The solid floor 6 partly rests ona fixed plate 8 and partly on a fixed round bar 9, with which it forms ahingejoint. The object of this hinge-joint is to enable the floor torise slightly for the purpose of relieving any obstruction in the shapeof a piece of carbid which may have become lodged between it and thechain belt 7. This chain belt 7 is a close belt composed of fiat plates7?, Fig. 5, turned under to form a link at the abutting-joints the fullwidth of the belt. Throughout the entire circuit of the belt on bothmargins are inserted wire staples 7 one staple to each link and eachstaple being confined to the same link. To hold the staples together andthereby compose the links to form the belt, short cylindrical rings 7are used, which also serve the purpose of shoulders against whichpressure can be brought to bear for moving the belt.

10 are two disk pulleys fastened to the revolving shaft 11, which Worksin bearings in the two side casings 12, These two disk pulleys carry thechain belt 7 near its two margins, as shown in dotted lines on Fig. 2.

13 are two sprocket-wheels, only one of which are shown, fastened to therevolving shaft 14. These two sprocket wheels also carry the chain belt7, the marginal wire staples 7 engaging in the teeth of the sprockets.When the revolving shaft 14 turns, the teeth of each sprocket-wheelpress against the cylindrical rings 7, (see Fig. 6,) forming part of thechain belt 7, and cause the entire belt to move. The disk pulleys 1Orevolve in unison with the chain belt. Owing to the carbid only restingon the belt 7, where it is firmly supported by the disk pulleys, thereis no slack in the belt on the upper side except at the eommencementofthe movement. tooper-- ate a discharge. At that mom entthesprocketwheels carry the slack of the chain to the upper side; but whenthe under side becomes taut the descending carbid hurries the chainforward until the slack again. formsonthe under side at the terminationof each discharge.

Fig. 3; is a sprocket-wheel"alsofastened to the revolving shaft 14 atits outer end.

16 is an endless sprocketchain which en'- gages in thesprocket-wheela15,andafter passing downward and under two loosev pulleys17 and 18 passes upward and engages in and over another sprocket-wheel1mfastened to a revolving shaft 20. Theshaft 20 is t'he motorshaft, whichcarries the power for operating the carbid-feedim, part ofthe machine.tened onto the shaft 20 is a water-escapement check-drum C, whichcarries on its outer circumference a ratchet-wheel R. Against the- (lrumC and also fastened onto theshaft 20 is another and smaller ratchetwheelS, which is engaged by a pawl P, fastened to a ropedrum D. Around therope-drum D is wound arope E, which carries a weight W. The ropedrum Drevolves loosely onthe shaft 20. All these parts on the shaft 20indicated by letr tors are partof my Letters Patent No. 637,252,-previously referred to.

21 is a pawl which engages in the ratchetwheel R, having a fulcrum 22,Fig. 3.

23 is a rod riveted loosely to the pawl 21 at the joint 24. This rodpasses upward through the guide-lug 25, above which it is bent inward at26 until it extends under the projecting top of the gasometer bell2.

27 is a series of hanging strips depending from a fixed round bar 28, onwhich they work loosely side by side in sufficient numbers to extendacross the full width of the opening at the bottom of the carbid-chamber4.-. The object of these strips is to destroy thetendency of the carbidto fiy in all directions when being charged into the chamber and tocontrol it when beingdelivered from the chamber into the generator-tank.

29 is the generator-tank to hold water, having a fixed grating 30, ontowhich the carbid fails, a hand-hole 31, closed by a cap-screw, and amud-valve 32. Attached to the generator-tank is a receptacle 33 to holdthe stagnant liquid medium through which the sprocket-chain 10 passes inconveying motion from the sprocket-wheel 19 to the sprocketwheel 15, theobject of which is toprevent the escape of gas through the journal ofthe generator-casing where the shaft 14 enters, and thus obviate thenecessity of astufiing-box.

34 is a gas-pipe with a valve 35 for conveying the newly-generated gasfrom the generator-tank into a condenser 36, intermediate between thegenerator-tank and the gasometer, embodied within the gasometer, andthrough which the gas must pass beforeit enters thegasometer. Thenewly-generated gas in an acetylene-gas generator is not pure acetylenegas, but a mixture of acetylene gas and watervapor. The condenser 36removes the water-vapor from the gas by causing the mixture toreverberate from side to side, as shown by the arrows passing around thesubdivisions 37, which compel it to give up its water-vapor against thecold'sides of the condenser, whereupon the fixed gas or acetylene entersthe gasometer as acetylene gas.

38 is a service-pipe for delivering the gas from the gasometer forconsumption.

The. operation of the.- machine isas follows: A quantity of water is putinto the generatortank 29" through the hand-hole 31 until it reaches thelevel shown on drawings, entirely submerging the grate30. A quantityofcalcium carbid isalso charged into thecarbidchamber 4 through theopening 5. The ten dency ofthecarbid to flyirr all directions is checkedby the hanging strips 27. The pawl 21' is now lifted by hand. Thisreleases-the ratchet-wheel R and allows theweight W to descend. Thedescent of the weight W causes the rope-d rum D to revolvebyvirtueof therope E, with which it iswound', and the pawl P, engaging thesmallerratchet-wheel S,con1- niunicates its motion, through theratchetwheel tothe shaft 20, on which the-sprocketwheel 19 is fastened,causing" it to revolve;

The endless sprocket-chain lti carries the mo tion of the shaft 20 tothe shaft 14 through the sprocket-wheels 19 and 15, causing the twosprocket-wheels 13, engaging in thechain belt 7, to revolve and thusmove the chain belt 7, on which carbid rests, until a portion of thecarbid falls overthe descending face of the belt into thegeneratortank,and the generation of a relative quantity of gas istheresult. After entering the waterin the tankthe carbid is supportednear the surfacebythe grating 30, where-achemicalreaction takes place,the

products of which are acetylene gas, which rises out of the Water, andhydrate of lime, which falls through the grating and settles at thebottom of the tank. The newly-generated gas enters the gasometer by thepipe 34 through the condenser 36, and the hell 2 of the gasometer risesupward. When the gasometer lowers, owing to the-consumption of itscontents, the projecting top or cover of the hell 2 comes into contactwith the rod 23, bent under it for the purpose, pressing it downward.

releasing the ratchet-wheel R, and the gen- This raises the pawl 21,again eration of a relative quantity of gasis repeated. When the bell ofthe gasometer prevent a too rapid descent of the weight W and theconsequent overcharge of carbid into the watertank, the water-escapementcheck-drumG is fastened unto the shaft 20,

with which it revolves. This drum is divided intocompartments insidepartly filled with water, and when it revolves the water IIO passes fromone compartment to the other with a velocity limited by the size of theopenings 0', Fig. 7, between the compartments. This controls the speedof the drum, and consequently the speed of the entire mechanism of thecarbid-feed. The weight W can be wound up at any time withoutinterfering with the working of the generator.

Having thus described the nature of my invention, what I claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus for the generation of acetylene gas in combinationwith a watertank, the carbid chamber, the moving chain belt 7 at thedelivery end of the floor of the carbid-chamber, for feeding the carbidinto the generator-tank and from under the solid part of the floor ofwhich it emerges,said chain belt comprising an endless series oftransverse platelinks fastened closely together, the open marginal linksof the chain belt 7 composed of the staples 7 and the cylindrical rings7, the two sprocket-wheels 13 and the revolving shaft 14 onto which theyare fastened so distanced apart as to enable them to engage in the openmarginal links of the chain belt which they operate and the disk pulleysl0 fastened to the idle shaft 11 over ing device, controlled by themovements of the bell of the gasometenthe device for transmitting thepower of the motor from the outside to the inside of the generatorconsisting of a pairof sprocket-wheels located one Within, one without agas generating chamber,

separated from each other by a liquid seal consisting of a U-shapedreceptacle containing liquid, and in each arm of which is contained oneof said Wheels, the said wheels being operatively connected by asprocket chain passed beneath the surface of theliquid, and beneath idlepulleys, whereby the motion is communicated from one wheel to the otherwithout permitting the escape of gas.

ISAAC LEONARD HARRIS.

Witnesses:

CHAS. E. WILLIAMS, FRANCIS A. WILLIAMS.

